Chapter 112 112
Aurélie POV
“Only if Dominique is feeling up to it,” I say carefully. “He’s been through a lot. I don’t want to uproot him again.”
“DOMINIQUE?” Maurice bellows without hesitation.
I shake my head, already regretting my words.
“Alpha?” Dominique comes charging into the room, Delphine hot on his heels, Roland trailing behind her.
“Your mother has been invited to visit another Alpha’s pack,” Maurice says smoothly. “Would you like to go? Or would it be too much, too soon?”
He had a talent for phrasing things just right.
“I’d like to go.” Dominique’s gaze flicks between Fabrice, Damien, and me, searching our faces for approval or permission.
“I don’t want to go,” Delphine declares immediately. “Can I stay here with Roland? He’s my boyfriend. He’ll take care of me.”
She delivers it in her sweetest, most angelic voice. Roland looks utterly enchanted.
I don’t even need to look at Fabrice to know what’s coming.
“NO.”
Fabrice and Damien speak in perfect, alarming unison.
“Why?” Delphine pouts instantly.
“Because you are far too young to have a boyfriend,” Damien says flatly, folding his arms.
“Alpha Damien is right, Delphine,” Fabrice adds. “You are four years old. You are coming with us.”
“But I don’t want to go!” She stamps her foot hard against the floor and storms out of the room.
I exhale slowly.
What was happening with them lately? One moment calm, the next chaos. Their moods shifted so quickly it was giving me whiplash. Maybe it really was time to give them separate rooms. Some space. Some structure.
“Dominique,” I call as he turns to follow her.
He pauses at the office door.
“If we go,” I say firmly, “I expect your very best behavior. You’ll be meeting Alphas you’ll one day work with regularly. No tantrums. No rudeness. If Fabrice or I say no, it’s for a reason and it will be respected.”
“Yes, Mum.” His answer is immediate.
But it’s the look in his eyes that unsettles me. There’s a fire there too sharp, too intense for a child his age.
Was this delayed trauma surfacing now?
“Then,” I add carefully, “we can talk about you having your own room.”
“Yes!” He punches the air, grinning, and bolts out of the office, chasing after Delphine to tell her the news.
I sink back slightly.
Was this wise? Taking them away from the safety of our pack? Or maybe that was exactly what they needed a change, something positive.
Their last stay at Damien’s had been… eventful.
And I couldn’t ignore the growing unease that Dominique might be sensing the strange, tangled dynamic between Damien and me.
Damien had said earlier that he thought Dominique knew.
Knew what?
That we were married?
That he was their father?
I wondered if some bond was already at play. Was Dominique feeling pulled toward Damien without understanding why?
I needed to speak to Damien privately. Find out what he thought Dominique knew and correct anything that needed correcting.
“Aurélie, would you like me to call Alpha Quentin?” Fabrice’s voice snaps me back into the room.
“No. I’ll do it.” I straighten. “I’ll call him now.”
The others begin filing out of the office as I move toward my desk. I switch my computer back on, scroll through my emails, and locate Alpha Quentin’s number.
“Aurélie?”
“Hm?” I look up.
Everyone is gone except Damien.
He rises slowly from his chair and walks toward me, placing his palms flat on my desk as he leans forward, crowding my space.
“Where’s Théo?”
The question catches me off guard. I have to consciously steady my breathing before answering.
“He’s away on pack business.”
“Pack business?” Damien arches an eyebrow.
“Yes. I have shares in several companies. He’s handling some matters for me.”
The lie sits awkwardly on my tongue. I’ve never been good at them.
“So you didn’t send him off on a wild goose chase?” he asks, smirking like he already knows the answer.
“I told you I’d handle it. That I would find her.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t play games, Aurélie.” He slams his hands down on the desk.
The sound echoes.
Games? Coming from him?
His frustration is palpable, sharp and barely contained but I don’t flinch. Not anymore. I simply smile, slow and deliberate, savoring the fact that I’m the cause of it.
“I’m not playing games, Damien. My pack’s safety comes first. Always. I don’t need permission to ensure that.”
“At all costs?” His eyes narrow. “So you are doing something.”
He straightens slightly, then leans in again.
“Just remember this I won’t hesitate to protect you and the children. At all costs. That’s my pact to you. That’s what I’ll spend my life doing. Whatever secret shit you’re pulling, be ready for the consequences.”
One hand lifts from the desk and settles under my chin, tilting my face up toward his.
“Don’t you get it yet?” His voice shifts, smoothing into something dangerously soft.
“Get what?” I whisper, breath leaving me slowly.
“The tingles.”
“The… tingles?”
He smiles faintly.
“Just think about it.”